Interview with Blaskapelle Chancentod
At this year’s Kombinat Festival, one of my highlights, next to Gans Sauvage’s reverb-laden set as well as Crooked Eyes’ intense performance, was definitely Blaskapelle Chancentod. The four-piece post-punk from Bern were an unrelenting and unstoppable force at the Hafenkneipe. The crowd were captivated whilst moving to the electrifying energy.
Soon after the festival, the band released their debut EP, Pädagogisch Wertvoll, which captures their energy really well across the six tracks clocking in at around eleven minutes. At first I was surprised by the duration but after listening to the EP many times, it has left me wanting more. Featuring members of Polar Klub and Oh Telephone, the band has a solid rhythm section to allow the jagged guitar riffs and synths to create a larger sound. The vocal hooks don’t leave my mind for days and I enjoy the absurd lyrics.
(photo copyrights: Michaela Theus & Roberto Bilic)
During my summer holiday in May, I was addicted to the EP and it became a large part of the soundtrack to the two weeks. At each possible moment, I found myself going back to Pädagogisch Wertvoll and was left wondering about the lyrics to Keine Zeit für Hass and its imagery of the cash machine being burnt. It wasn’t until returning to Zurich that I found out that there was music video to it as well.
In any case, I was keen to know more about the band - their history, influences, the recording of Pädagogisch Wertvoll and their live concerts, amongst other topics. I would like to thank them for participating in this interview!
Introduction
Tell us about the band, who’s in the band and on which instrument?
Gael: So, the band consists of: Yves Raymond Champion: guitar & vocals, Claude Studer: synthesizer, Lukas Heer: drums & vocals, Gael Zumbach: bass
How did you meet? Where did the idea come from to start Blaskapelle Chancentod?
Gael: Lukas and I had already played together in Oh Telephone. Lukas and Yves happened to be on a double date once and got on well. They both had similar musical influences, so they kept meeting up for a beer and a chat. Yves later showed us his very strange and dystopian lyrics and poems, and we all agreed that they should be set to music!
(Photo copyrights: Patrick Principe)
Where does the name come from?
Gael: That name was a joke in the first place. I was taking a shit and watching a football game. The forward of the team didn’t score a goal during that game and in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, you call a forward who always misses his chances a “Chancentod”. Yeah, and what does not really match our music? A brass band. That’s it. A simple and stupid combination but we like it. And we kept it.
What are your influences (musical and non-musical)?
Gael: We may all have different tastes in music, but we also have a lot in common. We all like bands such as Abwärts, Fehlfarben, Die Verlierer and Pisse, but also other non German speakings bands like Women or a lot of Frenchy OI and Hardcore Bands as Rixe, Condor and Syndrome 81.
(Photo copyrights: Patrick Principe)
The rhythm section is unique in a way that the drummer is a lead vocalist and guitarist with the bassist in two projects - what does this bring to the band.
Gael: Most of the time, we hate each other (joke)
For Yves: The mix of the intensity of the vocals with the lyrics - how much is it a reflection of your personality?
Yves: Yes, the lyrics are reflective, of course. They represent a confrontation between me and society, or rather, an interaction between us. They question a society that equates consumption with freedom yet is itself consumed by it. Reality, or rather what’s sold to us as normal, is also too absurd to be packaged in simple, beautiful words or sentences. That’s why they might be difficult for listeners to understand. In my view, it’s urgently necessary to recognize and overcome this nonsense. We need space for something new, something more loving, something more authentic.
(Photo copyright: Patrick Principe)
Was it always planned to add synths to the overall sound of the band?
Gael: We tried doing it without a Synth at first, but it never sounded quite right. We spent about three months looking for someone to play with us but couldn’t find anyone. So, we asked Claude, whom we knew from various band projects (Outta Mind, Polar Klub), and he arranged the songs on the synth– that was the missing piece of the puzzle.
Tell us about your approach to songwriting.
Gael: Simple – I usually bring a bassline, Yves some lyrics and then we try to build it around that. That works for us quite well!
Does Blaskapelle Chancentod maintain the Bern-Glarus connection? How does that work? Or are you all based in Bern?
Claude: Since both Lukas and I grew up in Glarus but moved to Bern and Solothurn the connection is there but our base is Bern for sure.
Pädagogisch Wertvoll
What was your mindset when you went to the studio to record the EP?
Yves: Just do it.
Lukas: I think we, or at least I, wanted to experiment and capture the sound we all had in mind. That nasty, dirty lo-fi sound. Something that sounds like it came straight out of a basement. And I think we did a pretty good job
Did you have the possibility to test the songs out live before recording them?
Gael: Yes we did! We played our first gig in August 2025 and could test our songs at a small gig in our rehearsal room!
How did you decide to choose which songs to record?
Claude: To be honest: There simply were no more songs to choose from at this time.
The EP was recorded, mixed and produced in house by the drummer, Lukas Heer - what did this decision bring to the overall sound of the EP?
Lukas: It still sounds like shit
You also seem to have a bit of experience in recording with other projects, did this make the sessions easier?
Gael: Yes, it certainly did! Everything is much more structured and really speeds up the process!
The songs were also mastered by Daniel Husayn (who also worked with Zuckerbecker), was this an obvious choice?
Gael: No, it wasn’t an obvious choice. We didn’t really have any idea who would be a good choice to master our EP, but we liked the sound of the last Zuckerbecker album, Retortenstadt, so they gave us the contact, and it was the perfect choice. We are very happy with it!
What are your memories from the recording sessions?
Yves: I thought it was great fun. But sometimes I just wanted to beat the shit out of someone. At the same time, though, I feel something like love and gratitude for actually doing this with these beautiful humans.
Claude: It was literally a blast! I even broke my guitar tube amp while recording synth over it. I have not told the other band members, and they will learn about it from this interview. I brought the amp discreetly to be repaired so no one would know hehe. It sounds better than ever now.
What do you think about the result?
Lukas: It’s amazing!
What are your thoughts about the video for Keine Zeit für Hass
Yves: I like the aesthetics and sounds of old arcade games. They're simple, weird, hectic, and a bit over the top. At the same time, Pac-Man is fitting because he's chasing ghosts and is also being chased by them. I think that reflects everyday life in our society pretty well. Ultimately, the song is about how we'd have less hate without capitalism and what we could do about it. And we were lucky that Barbara Praschnig, who made the video, implemented the idea so well and professionally.
Tell us about the artwork for the EP
Gael: This was drawn by the wonderful artist duo Walter Wolff. They also make brilliant tattoos! They’d already drawn various characters like this and then drew a brass band for us. Each of us is pictured in it – see if you can work out who’s who!
Stefan Cecere then did the layout. We’re very grateful for the help from such creative people.
Where did the decision come from to release the EP on cassette?
Gael: That was Reverend Beat-Man’s idea! He listened to the demos and said they sounded as if they’d been recorded in a basement and absolutely had to be released on cassette
How does it feel to release it on Voodoo Rhythm Records?
Gael: Its just fun to have a record on a label with such reputation and history and we are very glad that we had the opportunity to work with Voodoo, and we hope we will work with them again in the future!
(Photo copyright: Patrick Principe)
Live/future
What are your thoughts when you're up on stage?
Gael: Please don’t fall!
How were the performances at the Kombinat Festival and the show on 1st May for you?
Gael: Both gigs were great fun, and both were daytime gigs! That was a new experience for us too. Even so, the crowd were really nice to us, and Zurich is a great place to play.
How has the feedback been for your live shows? And for the EP?
Gael: We’ve had some really great feedback on both. However, most people are initially a bit confused by the name and might not have even given the EP a listen.
(Photo copyright: Patrick Principe)
What do you have planned for the near future?
Gael: Play as much as we can and record an album
What are your thoughts about the music scene in Bern and in Switzerland?
Gael: It’s a small scene where everyone knows each other, but there are lots of great people and plenty of brilliant bands.
Links:
Related articles:
Bern:
Kombinat 2026 (bands and related bands):
Interview with Kombinat (2025)
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